Taking a Deeper Look Into Nutrition Labels

More and more of us are becoming aware of the foods we are putting in our mouths - which is great, and as such, we are making a conscious effort to look at the labels of the products we buy.

For the most part this is part this is pretty straightforward; the big ones you want to look at are:
-total calories
-total sugar
-total fiber
-total fat
-total protein

...and so on, depending on what exactly you are looking to accomplish with your diet program.

But, one thing many people overlook is putting this information into the big picture.

Recently, I was looking at a box of cereal - one of my personal favorites, Mini-Wheats.

On the box, there is a big image that points out that the total fat is 1gram per serving and this is 2% of your total intake.

Now, this is where the problem occurs.

2% of your total. Who's total? Yours - the woman who stands 120 pounds or the man who stands at a 175. Both people are going to have vastly different nutritional needs, thus this 2% figure really is not accurate.

1 gram - now that is a quantifiable number that is useful.

1 gram tells us something.

1 gram is a solid measurement.

2% - this is not.

So, next time you're looking at labels and reading packing claims, make sure you keep this in mind.

Furthermore, with the large number of different diet approaches out there, this 2% doesn't really hold up anyway.

On a diet composed of 1400 calories, 120 grams of protein, 80 grams of fat, and 50 grams of carbs - which is fairly typical of Ketogenic diets, this whole claim gets thrown out the window.

My advice to you is to figure out your target calories, then work by using grams. Things will be much more effective this way.

When reading labels then, only use the gram figure to determine where that particular food fits in to your plan.

Meanwhile, I'm going to eat some Mini-Wheats (the Original Frosted for those who care).